Overhead door construction



June 23, 1936. R. L. WHEATLEY 2,045,060

OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION I Filed Jan. 25, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet l l I z 26 i l; I I 5 f 86 ji zvenior H, 23 ROB RT L.%Efi 7215) June 23, 1936. R. L. WHEATLEY OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan; 25, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY June 23, 1936. R. L. WHEATLEY OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 23, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Zia/era W6 Rag a? 7' L W/Hl 715) June 23, 1936. R. WHEATLEY OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 25, 1932 Patented June 23, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements and construction of an overhead door and devices thereto, and more particularly to a safe and eflicient power of operation by means of an encased compression spring. The door is to operate from a closed (vertical) position to an open (horizontal) position, when open it is up overhead and out of the way which conserves space and gives a clear and free passage into the building. The greater weight of the door, due to its constructions, rests on specially formed tracks when in the horizontal position, as the door is closed to the vertical position, the entire load is secured by my vertical tracks 2 but not held. Therefore, the principal object of my invention is to provide an eflective counter-balancing mechanism by means of a compression spring to compensate for the weight of the door, when raising to an open position, so as to maintain the weight of the door at any points of the door travel or in a semi-open position.

Further, to so construct the sectional parts of the door to make it fireproof, rigid of construction for the purpose of long life and efllcient operation and to withstand weather conditions by means of specially formed supports for Weatherstripping the bottom of door, and also the top and both .sides.

It is my further object to invent a metal door so that the hardware, 1. e. the hinges or roller shaft carriages formed from part of the door construction itself when manufactured and assembled at the factory, which reduces cost of manufacturing and installation, and thereby eliminating separate hinges, bolts and nuts to be applied when assembly is made. It is my further desire to reserve the rights to weld or otherwise afiix separate hinges or roller shaft carriages to the frame when found necessary to support larger size doors or sections as the conditions arise.

It is my further object to invent and design this type of binge or roller shaft carriage so as to eliminate noise due to operation of the door by allowing in the design of the roller shaft carriage the insertion of a non-metallic bushing for the shaft to ride or float therein. My further object to invent and design this type of hinge is to use a nonmetallic pin for the hinge which also acts as a journal for the roller shaft which will eliminate noise, lubrication, corrosion, binding and also reduce wear to the greatest extent.

Further, that the door being so constructed of all metal will eliminate the possibility of absorbing moisture and binding due to a swelling condition commonly experienced when made of wood materials. Further, that by means of this construction the weight of the door is evenly divided within each section, thereby insuring an 5 even pull on the counterweighting or counterbalancing spring mechanism throughout all points of the door travel.

My counterbalancing spring mechanism consists of a compression spring which is the source of the motive power.

It is to be understood that reference to a counterbalancing spring mechanism shown in the form of a spring embraces a weight or other counterbalancing means may be employed (1. e. electrically operated).

It is understood, of course, that the tension of the spring is so designed relative to the weight of the door that the desired travel of the door is greater than the distance required of the compression of the spring. The determination of the tension of the spring concerns itself with the decreasing load of the door, the decreasing tension of the spring when moving to the open position or the increasing load of the door, the in creasing tension of the spring when moving to the closed position by compressing the spring or to the open position by decompressing the spring. By decompressing is meant that the coils of the spring move from a closed or comparatively closed position to an open or comparatively open position."

The construction and design between the elements referred to above is such that the turning moments of the door and the spring are maintained uniformly to properly counterbalance the door throughout all points in its travel in the track.

Other objects of the construction of the counterbalancing spring mechanism are to insure safety and quietness in the operation of the door which is to be operated manually, or electrically.

Further, to counterbalance the door accurately andto assist in raising or closing the door, so as to prevent the door from dropping, so that it may be operated easily, the counterbalancing mechanism is connected to both sides of the door by means of cable to operate over pulleys, drums of equal diameters or drums with variable diameters adapted to produce the greatest leverage.

I reserve the right to use one or more springs to counterbalance the door as the condition may arise, also to reserve the right to install the spring or springs or spring assembly in any position in relation to the door to satisfactorily counterbalance or to meet installation conditions due to construction or designs of buildings.

It is my further object to use a non-metallic roller which eliminates noise and lubrication and for the purpose of giving the door freedom of travel from the raised to the closed position or vice versa by inventing a means of overcoming this condition by creating a designed shaft that is full floating. By the term full floating I means the shaft is riveted or secured or afllxed in a solid manner to the roller which is placed in the track or guide, so that, as the door moves from a vertical position to a horizontal position, the shaft turns in the carriage and the track guides the roller in the course of the door travel.

An important object of my invention is to furnish a closing device for the all metal overhead door, so that, as the door is lowered from the horizontal position to the vertical position, it will come to rest in a plumb position against the jambs when overlapping the opening or in a perfectly vertical position in relation to the jambs when lowered from the horizontal position so as to rest against a specially formed metal stop which contains Weatherstripping material sealing the opening or both sides and top of door. This invention for closing the door is in the form of specially formed tracks and to assist the tracks special size rollers for the bottom section of the door in addition to roller shafts with special double rollers placed in the top sections at a posi-' tion suitable to meet conditions for this purpose. The action gained follows through by first, forming the vertical track which will be at an angle of to the foot of being parallel when door is in horizontal position and arranging the special track brackets in their relative positions, the upper brackets will be slotted so as to allow a rivet fixed to the track the freedom of sliding forward and backward, the bottom bracket will contain a rivet which is also connected to the track and on which the track will pivot; second, an auxiliary roller guide or track will be connected with a rivet which is to slide in a slot provided in the intermediate track brackets or a vertical position parallel with the jambs and will be the guide for the travel of the bottom rollers in the door; third, the curved horizontal tracks are bolted to jamb brackets at the intersection of the vertical tracks and also riveted to top jamb bracket, the main horizontal track which supports the weight of door when in a horizontal position is assisted by a special designed angle mounting which forms part of the closing device at the top of door. A spring connecting the curved horizontal track with the vertical track assist the vertical track to return in alignment with the curve horizontal tracks as the door starts in the upward travel. The rear of the curved horizontal tracks are secured to the roof joist or structure or ceiling by means of an angle hanger or the brace support.

Further, it is understood that I, shall furnish a locking device which will be installed within one of the sections suitable to secure the door when in a closed position so as to lock or unlock the door from inside or outside the building and to provide handles or pulls to raise or close the door which are to form from or consist of part oi. the frame of sections of said door.

It is also an object of the invention to generally improve and simplify tht mounting of the counterbalancing means and the construction of doors of the type referred to.

Further objects will be apparent as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a portion of a building provided with an all metal overhead door and counterbalancing means constructed in accordance with my invention, the door being shown in an open position in solid lines, the vertical tracks secured to the jamb by means of brackets and the curved horizontal tracks secured to the jamb by means of brackets and also an angle hanger to the rafter supporting the end of the track.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line A--A of Figure 1 showing the position of the intermediate 1 rollers and hinges relative to the track.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1 showing position of top rollers relative to the track.

Fig. d is a sectional view taken on line C of 2 Figure 1 showing track and slotted brackets mounted to the jamb in its relative position when door is in the open position and also sectional view of moulding mounted to the jamb.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line D of 2 Figure 1 showing section of the track and pivot bracket in its relative position to the jamb when the door is in the open position.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a portion of a building provided with an all 3 metal overhead door and closing device construction in accordance with my invention showing the door in a closed position in solid lines also showing the vertical tracks secured to the jamb by means of brackets and the curved horizontal tracks secured to the jamb by means of brackets.

Fig. 7 is an inside vertical view showing the door in the closed position with relation to the vertical tracks and counterbalancing spring assembly. 4

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line EE of Figure '7 showing the hinges and rollers in their relative position to the track.

Fig. 9 is an inside view showing the frame numbers and the panel covering construction of 4 the intermediate sections.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on line F--F of Figure 9 showing the frame member construction of the intermediate sections.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation view of the counter- 5 balancing spring mechanism model A showing the use and purpose of the outside housing supports to retain the outside diameter of the spring at all times. Also the integral working parts in relation to each other.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken on line G--G of Figure 11 showing the design of the spring housing and roller guides for spring.

Fig. 13 is a side elevation view of the counterbalancing spring mechanism model B, showing 6 the use and purpose of the inserted spring support to retain the inside diameter of the spring at all times. Also the integral working parts in relation to each other.

Fig. 14 is a sectional view taken on line H-H 6 of Figure 13 showing the inserted spring support and guide for rollers and housing construction.

The drawings show the preferred form of my invention, but it will be understood that the several improvements are not restricted to the exact 7 details shown and that I reserve the right to, within the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed, make such minor changes as may from time to time appear desirable.

Reason for showing two different types of 7 spring supports is that, in design modelA is commonly known as standard design which is used for counterbalancing doors of light weight, whereas model B this design is used in connection with counterbalancing heavy weight doors.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a section of the front wall l5 equipped with a door frame or jamb 6 providing a doorway l1 and showing rafters l8 are constructional features of a building which form no part of my invention and may be varied to meet requirements.

Track bracket I9 is secured to jamb l6 by lag screw 20 the auxiliary vertical track 2| and the vertical track 22 are riveted together by rivet 23, and auxiliary vertical track 2| together with vertical track 22 pivots at bracket 19 on rivet 24. The intermediate bracket 25 is secured to jamb l6 by lag screw 28 and is provided with a slot 26 to permit tracks 2l22 slide on rivet 27 to a forward or rearward position. The next intermediate bracket 28 is secured to jamb l6 by lag screw 28 and is provided with a slot 26 to permit tracks 2|22 to slide on rivet 2! to a forward and rearward position, bracket 28 also supports track 29 in a stationary position by means of bolts 30. Top track bracket 3| is secured to jamb l6 by lag screw 28 and supports tracks 29 and 32 in a stationary position by means of rivets 33. Tracks 28 and 32 are supported to the hanger 34 by means of bolt 35 and hanger 34 is secured to rafter |8 by means of lag screw 29. Spring 36 is fastened to tracks 2| and 29 by means of bolts 31 for the purpose of securing the alignment of tracks 2| and 22 with track 29 when the door is in its semi and open position.

The door is made up of preferably four or more sections and are indicated by numbers 38-39- 404|. These sections have specially designed co-acting rabbetted edges 42 interfitting to provide a Weather-tight joint 42 on both sides of door which permits the movement of the sections freedom from any binding action when moving from the vertical position to the horizontal position or vice-versa, in keeping with the travel of the door on tracks 2 |2229-32.

The frame 43 consists of special formed channels 44 and cross members fits-46 together with intermediate cross members ll-43 welded together at intersecting joints and so arranged to form a fiat surface to support the outside metal covering 4956 which are locked-seamed with a weld which also forms the rabbetted joint 42.

Cross members also forms the roller shaft bracket 5| or part of the hinge 5|. The nonmetallic hinge pin or roller shaft journal 52 is inserted in the hinge 5| when sections are assembled to form the door.

The roller 53 rotates on roller shaft 54 which is inserted in the roller shaft bracket 5| and is keyed 55 therein and is located in bottom of section 38 at each side of same. The roller 53 travels in track 2|, also the step plate 56 is formed from frame 43 in bottom of section 38.

The handle or pull 51 is inserted in journal or hinge pin 52.

The intermediate rollers 58 is riveted stationary on the roller shaft 54 which is inserted in the roller shaft journal 52 located at joints of intermediate sections 38, 39, 40, 4| as shown on inside face of door of Figure 7. Rollers 58 travel in tracks 22 and 29 the roller shafts 54 rotating in roller shaft journals 52.

The lock assembly 59 is constructed in section 38 or 39 whenever desirable. The slotted hole 90 in tracks 2| is for the purpose of locking door as shown in Figure '7 when in a closed position.

Roller 60 rotating on roller shaft assembly 6| is so constructed to hold roller 62 which rotates on shaft 6| and roller shaft 6| is inserted in roller shaft bracket 5| wherein is held by key 63 in section 4|. In closing door from the horizontal to a vertical position against the jamb l6 the rollers 60 and 62 travel on and under track 32 which is slightly curved downward and inwardly toward jamb l6 causing roller shaft 6| to intersect with track 2| which in turn forces track 2| and all moveable parts connected thereto to slide in brackets 2528 and pivot on bracket Hi to a forward and closed position against jamb l6 and moulding 64 with felt insert 65 secured to jamb l6 by means of wood screw 9| which seals the door opening making it weather-tight when door is in a closed position, which also prevents a binding condition as commonly experienced when wood materials are used against face of door.

The cable fittings 66 securing cables 61 and 68 are anchored to section 38. Cable 61 runs over pulley 69 which is secured to bracket 18 which is fastened to jamb |6 by means of lag screw 20,

..pulley 69 is secured to bracket 10 by means of pin 1|, cable 6! continues across the door opening over double pulley l2 and enters into spring counterbalancing mechanism 13 as shown in Figures 11 model A and 13 model B. Cable 68 runs over double pulley 12 and enters spring counterbalancing mechanism 13 as shown in Figures 11 model A and 13 model B.

Double pulley 12 is secured to bracket 14 by means of pin 15, the bracket I4 is fastened to the jamb |6 by means of lag screw 25 and is also the spring counterbalancing mechanism 13 support. Cable 61 and 68 after entering spring counterbalancing mechanism 13 travel over grooved pulleys 16 and continues to point of fastening on bracket 14 by means of set screws 11. The double grooved cable sheave 16 is secured to spring brackets 18 by means of pins 19. Spring bracket 18 is riveted together by means of roller pins 80 which forms the shaft for rollers 8|. Rollers 8| travel in special form portion of spring housing 13 which is so constructed to ascertain cable 61 and 68, alignment between cables sheaves l6 and 12. The spring bracket 18 is so constructed to secure one end of compression spring 82. The outside diameter of the compression spring 82 is held in alignment by means of a special form spring housing 13. The opposite end of the spring 82 is held securely by special constructed adjustment part 83 to secure the spring from turning and is also designed to fit spring housing 13.

Adjustment part 83 is provided with a tapped center to accomodate adjustment screw 84 which has a fixed flanged nut 85. The flanged nut 85 is inserted in bracket I4 for the purpose of making adjustment of tension on spring 82.

The bracket 86 is a separate part of spring housing 13 and is secured to jamb US by means of lag screw 28.

Figures 13 and 14 are similar in construction and principle with the exception of parts as follows: Shaft 81 is for the purpose of keeping an alignment and retaining the inside diameter of spring 82 at all times and in addition to keeping an alignment the cable 61 and 68 between sheaves 12 and 16. Shaft 81 is secured to brackets 14 and 86. The brackets 14 and 86 are secured to jamb l6 by means of lag screws 20. The shaft 81 is threaded to secure the adjustment nut 88 which is used to very tension of spring 82, the spring housing 89 so designated is used as a spring assembly cover.

While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form l am aware that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention, the scope of which is to be determined by reference to the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a door construction including a doorway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing of said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical traclasecured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second vertical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said doorway, a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, the forward end of each of said horizontal tracks being curved downwardly and terminating at a point adjacent the top of each doorway, a second hori-- zontal track positioned parallel to each first named horizontal track, the forward end of each second named horizontal track being curved downwardly to the level of the second named vertical track, and means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of said second named horizontal track.

2. In a door construction including a doorway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing of said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical track secured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second vertical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said doorway, a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, said horizontal tracks being angular in cross section and having the flanges thereof directed outwardly, the forward end of each of said horizontal tracks being curved downwardly and terminating at a point adjacent the top of said doorway, a second horizontal track positioned parallel to each first named horizontal track, the forward end of each second named horizontal track being curved downwardly to the level of the second named vertical track, and means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of said second named horizontal track.

3. In a door construction including a, d rway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing of said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical track secured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second ver tical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, spring means for urging the upper portions of said hingedly secured vertical tracks away from said doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said doorway, a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, said horizontal tracks being angular in cross section and having the flanges thereof directed outwardly, the forward end of each of said horizontal tracks being curved downwardly and terminating at a point adjacent the top of said doorway, a second horizontal track positioned parallel to each first named horizontal track, the forward end of each second named horizontal track being curved downwardly to the level of the second named vertical track, and means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of said second named horizontal track.

4. In a door construction including a doorway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing of said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical track secured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second vertical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said doorway', a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, said horizontal tracks being angular in cross section and having the flanges thereof directed outwardly, the forward end of each of said horizontal tracks being curved downwardly and terminating at a point adjacent the top of said doorway, a second horizontal track positioned parallel to each first named horizontal track, the forward end of each second named horizontal track being curved downwardly to the level of the second named vertical track, and means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of said second named horizontal track, and means for maintaining said door in operable association with said tracks, said means including a pair of rollers positioned adjacent the top of each vertical edge of said door.

5. In a door construction including a doorway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing of said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical" track secured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second vertical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said doorway, a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, said horizontal tracks being angular in cross section and having the flanges thereof directed outwardly, the forward end of each of K level of the second named vertical track, means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of I said second named horizontal track, and means for maintaining said door in operable association with said tracks, said means including a pair of rollers positioned adjacent the top of each vertical edge of said door, one of said roller being adapted to move the entire door away from the doorway at the beginning of the door opening operation.

6. In a door construction including a doorway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing oi said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical track secured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second vertical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said doorway, a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, said horizontal tracks being angular in cross section and having the flanges thereof directed outwardly, the forward end of each of said horizontal tracks being curved downwardly and terminating at a point adjacent the top of said doorway, a second horizontal track positioned parallel to each first named horizontal track, the forward end of each second named horizontal track being curved downwardly to the level of the second named vertical track, and means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of said second named horizontal track, and means for maintaining said door in operable association with said tracks, said means including a pair of rollers positioned adjacent the top of each vertical edge of said door, one of said rollers being adapted to move the entire door into engagement with the doorway at the end of the door closing operation.

7. In a door construction including a doorway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly Joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing 01 said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical track secured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second vertical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said door way, a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, said horizontal tracks being angular in cross section and having the flanges thereof directed outwardly, the forward end of each of said horizontal tracks being curved downwardly and terminating at a. point adjacent the top of said doorway, a second horizontal track positioned parallel to each first named horizontal track, the forward end of each second named horizontal track being curved downwardly to the level of the second named vertical track, means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of said second named horizontal track, and means for maintaining said door in operable association with said tracks, said means including a pair of rollers positioned adjacent the top of each vertical edge of said door, the rollers of each of said pairs being adapted to operate one on the top and one on the bottom surface of the outwardly turned flange of each of said first named horizontal tracks.

8. In a door construction including a doorway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing or said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical track secured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second vertical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said doorway, a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, said horizontal tracks being angular in cross section and having the flanges thereof directed outwardly, the forward end of each of said horizontal tracks being curved downwardly and terminating at a point adjacent the top of said doorway, a second horizontal track positioned parallel to each first named horizontal track, the forward end of each second named horizontal track being curved downwardly to the level of the second named vertical track, means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned and of said second named horizontal track, and means for maintaining said door in operable association with said tracks, said means including a pair of rollers positioned adjacent the top of each vertical edge of said door and a single roller positioned adjacent the bottom of each vertical edge of said door, said last named rollers being operable only in said first named vertical tracks.

9. In a door construction including a doorway, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly joined horizontal sections in association with said doorway, a vertical track hingedly secured parallel to each inside upright facing of said doorway and extending thereabove, a second vertical track secured to each first named vertical track and operable therewith, said second vertical tracks terminating at a point below the top of the doorway, means for limiting the transverse movement of said vertical tracks from said doorway,

a horizontal track positioned above and extending rearwardly from each side of said doorway, said horizontal tracks being angular in cross section and having the flanges thereof directed outwardly, the forward end of each of said horizontal tracks being curved downwardly and terminating at a point adjacent the top of said doorway, a second horizontal track positioned parallel to each first named horizontal track, the forward end of each second named horizontal track being curved downwardly to the level of the second named vertical track, means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of said second named horizontal track, and means for maintaining said door in operable association with said tracks, said means including a pair of rollers positioned adjacent the top of each vertical edge of said door, one of said rollers being adapted to move the entire door away from-the doorway at the beginning of the door opening operation, and means in association with said I level of the second named vertical track, means for moving said second named vertical track into abutment with the downwardly turned end of said second named horizontal track, means for maintaining said door in operable association with, said tracks, said means including a pair of rollers positioned adjacent the top of each vertical edge of said door, one of said rollers being adapted to move the entire door away from the doorway at the beginning of the door 10 opening operation, and enclosed spring means urging the closed door upwardly.

ROBERT L. WHEATLEY. 

